Baking and Cooking–How To Make Ghee (Clarified Butter)

Most of you will want to skip over this blog entry because you’re not allergic to dairy (casein) and soy like Jack is. But if you are intolerant to those things this recipe for clarified butter will be a life-saver. Or if you have a gourmet recipe that calls for ghee and you have trouble finding it, just use this method and make it at home. It is CRAZY expensive to buy it and it’s challenging to find. I just saw some at Hannaford the other day and a little 8 oz. jar was almost $7. Originally I bought a container of ghee from an Indian grocery store, since it’s frequently used in Indian cuisine. However, it was a very odd consistency (almost slushy) and it had an almost spicy aroma that did not appeal to me. But when you make it at home the consistency is more like softened butter and it smells like toffee as it’s cooking. Which would you rather have?

A few months ago, I was researching alternatives to dairy butter and soy butter since Jack and I cannot have either. I wasn’t sure what I could use for baking and cooking, especially for baked goods that needed a buttery flavor that shortening can’t provide (yes, I’m aware they make butter-flavored Crisco, but Crisco is soybean oil-based). I discovered several websites that mentioned how ghee (clarified butter) was an acceptable option for people who are intolerant or allergic to the casein in dairy products. So for people (for example, those diagnosed with autism or food allergies/intolerances) who are on gluten-free and casein-free diets (GFCF), ghee wouldn’t cause any adverse reaction. Why? Because during the clarification process the casein (milk protein) is burned away. Keep in mind that I am not a doctor or a nutritionist, so please verify all of this information for yourself.

Ghee is frequently used by professionals because it has a high smoking point. For example, if you were pan-frying chicken cutlets in ghee it would take longer for them to burn than if you were using olive oil. Ghee gives cutlets a nice golden brown color. Also, if you try melting ghee in a microwave it takes MUCH longer to melt than a stick of butter would. I’ve also read that ghee does not need to be refrigerated. It will last for 1 month in a covered container unrefrigerated, or three months refrigerated. Below is a method for making ghee that I read about online. However, I was frustrated that I couldn’t find any photos of the process online so I didn’t know if I was doing it right or not. That’s why I’m uploading this entry–so that people can see exactly how to do it and exactly how the butter is supposed to look the entire time. When I make ghee I always use 8 sticks of butter, but you can use 2 sticks or 20 sticks–the process will still be the same.

How To Make Ghee (Clarified Butter)–Method and Photos

Place 2 lbs. of butter (8 sticks) in a crock pot/slow cooker. Cook on low with lid on for 5 hours.

Over the next 5 hours, the butter will look like this:

It’s not necessary to stir it. As you can see in the final picture above, the liquid looks burnt. But underneath the burnt crust is the clear, separated ghee. You’ll see that the bottom of the crock pot is also coated with burnt solids. All of that will be strained out during the next step.

Place a piece of cheesecloth over a container. Keep in mind that in order to strain this much ghee, you will end up using several pieces of cheesecloth.

The (almost) finished product:

Let the ghee sit for a few minutes. You’ll notice some sediment forming on the bottom of the container. You’ll want to get rid of that sediment before storing the ghee. Otherwise, you’ll have a container full of solid ghee with brownish liquid on the bottom–really disgusting.

I’ve poured the ghee into a cup with a spout. That’ll make it easier for me to measure it. I placed silicone baking cups into a muffin tin. I’m sure it’s just as easy to pour the ghee directly into the tin. I just figured the cups would be easier to work with. Then I measured out 1/4 cup of ghee and poured it into the baking cups. I was able to fill all 12 baking cups with ghee and had probably another 1/2 cup of ghee left over that I put in another container. Keep in mind that you can totally skip this part! If you just want to pour all of the ghee into a covered container and store it, that’s absolutely fine.

I put the muffin tin into the refrigerator for several hours, until the ghee had hardened. Then I removed the silicone baking cups and put the hardened ghee in a covered container that I will keep in the fridge. Now if I need a cup of butter for a recipe I can just substitute with 4 blocks of ghee, since each block contains 1/4 cup of ghee. How awesome (and convenient) is that?!